Automotive radar testers

Radar is the key technology for the development of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), able to instantaneously measure distance, angle and velocity and produce detailed images of the surroundings. It enables safety-critical features such as emergency braking and therefore chipsets, sensors and modules need to be tested thoroughly at each phase from development and conformance to production. Test products, software and OTA systems from Rohde & Schwarz assist component suppliers and vehicle manufacturers to develop robust and high-performance automotive radar, able to function correctly even in demanding environmental and RF conditions.

Automotive radar testing involves many phases throughout the product lifecycle, from development and complience to EMC, integration and production testing. Modules, chipsets, hardware in the loop (HIL) and vehicle in the loop (VIL) testing, including transmitter and receiver characteristics and overall function testing, must be conducted in real-wold conditions. This ensures robust operation to support critical applications such as ADAS.

Our R&S®ATS1500C antenna test chamber is based on the compact antenna test range (CATR) method and is developed for automotive radar sensors. Together with the integrated R&S®AREG100A radar target simulator, crucial radar characteristics are efficiently and accurately measured under far-field conditions. The fully anechoic shielding chamber enables high-precision testing of high-end automotive radar with significantly low number of interference such as ghost targets.

Automotive radars are usually placed behind the bumpers. This requires a careful selection of materials for bumpers and radomes in order to ensure good signal penetrability. The R&S®QAR automotive radome tester is designed to make it visible how a radome influences automotive radar signals. The solution measures how inhomogenous the reflectivity of the radome is, independent of the actual radar.